The present invention relates generally to guide assemblies and, more particularly, to a guide assembly having multiple passage guides connected thereto.
During construction of residential and commercial facilities, it is often required to pass conductors through the structure of the facility. Such conductors include power cables, water lines, phone cables, and television signal cables. Additionally, with the proliferation of “smart buildings” it has become more desirable and cost efficient to pass computer cables as well as entertainment and security cables within wall, floor, and ceiling cavities. Such systems are often referred to as structured wiring systems and often include a bundled array of phone, computer, co-axial, and speaker cables.
Often, the devices associated with a specific system share a common point of origin. For simplicity, only one such system will be described. In buildings equipped with radiant heat systems, a plurality of radiant heating loops are connected to a manifold and extend about the building. The simplest of radiant heating loops have a first end connected to a hot water inlet, extend about the area to be heated, and have a second end connected to a return manifold thereby forming a “loop”. A heating fluid, such as water, is heated by a heat source, such as a water heater or boiler, and is pumped through the heating loop. Such radiant heating loops are frequently located in close proximity to a finish floor of the area to be heated. The heating loops can be positioned beneath a subfloor or sandwiched between a subfloor or substrate, and a finish floor.
To maximize the usable space of a structure, the heating loops often extend generally transverse to the floor surfaces in close proximity to a wall surface. Such an orientation minimizes the space obstructed by the heating tubes. Often, an elbow is employed to facilitate this generally transverse directional change. For radiant heat systems, each end of a loop must be threaded through an elbow. A single loop heating system requires an elbow to be passed over each end of the heating tube. Each elbow must then be securely fastened to a sub-surface to allow a finish floor to be formed thereabout. Individually securing each elbow is a time consuming and tedious process and often delays the construction process. Although there are known elbow constructions that allow the conduit to pass radially into the elbow, these elbows only support individual conductors. That is, often multiple elbows must be individually secured and individual conductors passed therethrough or thereinto. Additionally, depending on the finish floor system formed about the heating tubes, inadvertent movement of the individual elbows can result in damage or displacement of the conductor passed therethrough during formation of the finish floor.
Radiant floor heating has gained increased acceptance as the preferred heating method for spaces built on grade or in basements. The radiant tubes are often attached to a supporting structure and a concrete floor is often poured thereover. The process of finishing a concrete floor often employs the application of a power trowel. The power trowel includes a plurality of individual floats attached to an engine. Operation of the engine rotates the floats and as the power trowel is moved across the surface of the floor, the floats provide a relatively smooth and flat finish of the floor. An operator of the power trowel must be particular careful during finishing of the floor near the array of individual elbows that have been passed thereinto. Although the concrete is generally stiff enough to support the weight of the power trowel and an operator thereof, inadvertent contact between the power trowel and the elbows can result in displacement of the elbows from their secured location. Such an event produces a relatively unsightly finished alignment of the individual elbows and/or a blemish in the finish of the floor. Worse yet, if the floats of the power trowel contact the radiant tube or other conductor passed through the elbow, the float could sever the conductor or minimally form a leak in fluid communicating conductors.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method capable of quickly and efficiently guiding and securing a plurality of conductors in such applications.